LawNY 50th Anniversary Celebration

On September 27th, LawNY celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a dinner that brought together friends, alumni, staff, donors and community partners to reconnect and reminisce. We also listened to powerful testimonies from former clients that highlighted both the legal needs in our community as well as the positive impact of civil legal services. LawNY would like to personally thank these individuals for their bravery and strength in sharing their stories with us.

We were also honored that Tim Curtin from the Law Department of the City of Rochester provided a proclamation on behalf of Mayor Lovely Warren and the City of Rochester. In addition, we acknowledged proclamations from Assemblyman Gantt, Assemblyman Morelle, and State Senator Rich Funke. Another memorable part of the evening was the announcement that County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo had declared September 27, 2018, to be “Legal Assistance of Western New York Day.” We were also extremely grateful that honored guests, including County Legislator Michael Lausell, Honorable Joan Kohout, Honorable Ellen Yacknin, Administrative Law Judge John Costello, Administrative Law Judge Brian Kane, and Kevin Beckford from the Pittsford Town Board, were able to take time to celebrate with us.

We also recognized two organizations whose collaboration and vision created what is now the Rochester office of LawNY (formerly the Monroe County Bar Association’s Legal Assistance Corporation). LawNY Deputy Director Lori O’Brien presented Community Partner Awards to Kevin Ryan, Executive Director of the Monroe County Bar Association (MCBA), and Jerome Underwood, President and CEO of Action for a Better Community (ABC). These awards celebrated their organizations’ invaluable contributions to our formation in the late 1960s.

In addition, board members Richard Curtis and Mollie Dapolito presented a surprise award to Ken Perri, LawNY’s Executive Director. Ken’s strong leadership, dedication, and hard work has shaped LawNY into a force for good in our communities.

In honor of our 50th Anniversary, it was announced at the dinner that the Glover-Crask Foundation generously offered to match up to $5,000 worth of donations. We are on our way to that goal. If you would like to support our mission of expanding access to legal services to all members of our community, please donate at www.lawny.org/donate by October 15, 2018, and mention that you are donating in connection to the 50th Anniversary.

Thank you again to everyone who helped to make the 50th Anniversary celebration a night to remember, and to all of you for your continued support of our programs and services!

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